Devices including graphite are useful in a wide range of electrochemical systems. For example, graphite electrodes are used in some batteries, and some ship hulls include a conductive graphite coating to prevent or minimize biofouling. However, devices with graphite surfaces may exhibit performance degradation over time due to surface degradation, particularly in aqueous solutions. The primary degradation mechanism for unmodified graphite surfaces reportedly arises from the formation of surface hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups (Kautek et al., Electrochimica Acta 2001, 47:815-823; Matsumoto et al., J. of the Electrochemical Society 2009, 156:B1208-B1211).